The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has been allocated $21.25 billion to undertake activities for the 2023/24 fiscal year. This represents a 19 per cent increase or $3.39 billion more than the previous year. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. made the disclosure during a meeting of the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives at Gordon House on...

Persons are being invited to participate in the Coffee Innovation Competition, the newest feature of the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival. Director, Tourism Linkages Network, Carolyn McDonald Riley told JIS News that the competition is a “unique opportunity to show off creativity and innovation through the development of coffee-based products”. Interested persons are being asked to record a 60-second video...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has provided an additional $110 million in support to farmers affected by the meteorological drought. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., made the announcement during a press briefing held at the Office of the Prime Minister on March 3. “We have, so far, presented… $90 million in terms of trucking and other forms of...

The planned construction of a climate-resilient aquaculture hatchery is expected to more than double the fry supply of the National Fisheries Authority (NFA).  This was disclosed by Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., during a Stakeholders’ Validation Meeting for the undertaking, on March 2.   “The type of innovation and the modernisation that comes from the building of...

The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) has trained more than 14,000 farmers in the last five years on best practices in livestock and crop production. Delivered through its extension service, training aims to improve sustainable production and to ensure that international protocols are maintained. Livestock Specialist at RADA, Maxine Brown, said that having one livestock officer in each parish has...

Scores of patrons flocked to the 66th Hague Agricultural Show, which was held in Trelawny on Ash Wednesday, February 22. The show, which returned after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was hosted by the Trelawny Association of Branch Societies, an affiliate of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), under the theme ‘Fostering Economic Growth, Through Agricultural Value Chains’....

A $2.3-billion allocation has been made to continue work on the Southern Plains Agricultural Development Project in the upcoming fiscal year. The sum has been budgeted in the 2023/24 Estimates of Expenditure, tabled in the House of Representatives by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, recently. The project, which began in December 2019, aims...

The Essex Valley Irrigation Infrastructure Development Programme, being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, is to continue in the upcoming fiscal year through an allocation of nearly $4.5 billion. Details of the allocation are outlined in the 2023/24 Estimates of Expenditure, tabled in the House of Representatives by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon....

Work is to continue on the soil fertility mapping project in the upcoming fiscal year, with approximately $66.58 million allocated to the initiative. The provision is contained in the 2023/24 Estimates of Expenditure, tabled in the House of Representatives recently. The project, being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, aims to increase productivity and the quality of agricultural...